LA visit
As many of you know, we took a short trip to Orange County this weekend to attend Jakedog42's memorial service. We were lucky enough to be able to fly out of our local airport, Charles M. Schulz Airport (Sonoma County Airport). Yes, our airport is named after its most famous resident – the author of “Peanuts”. Everything went well except when an expensive bottle of wine was found in my carry-on. “We can’t keep doing that,” they said. “But the website encourages the purchase of local wine and allows you to bring wine on the plane,” I said. “Yes, but only for checked baggage. We will dispose of it.” I'm sure that's the case.
Short flight to John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana. Susan was kind enough to pick us up and drive us to our hotel where we met up with gmats and 714day. After a quick bite on the lovely patio, we headed to the monument. It's my daughter's house in a fun neighborhood, and it's a festival-like place with a hamburger truck parked outside. We met with Mr. Ycalif who saw a wheelchair on the lawn and thought we could join.
Jake Dog had a lot of friends, many of whom were there. And his incredibly supportive family, multiple generations, were there to tell stories about his life. The man lived his life to the 100%, or better. Pictures of his life were everywhere, showing his love for the ocean, Jimmy Buffet, and his friends and family. 714day talked about his long-standing connection with Daily Kos, and we appreciated it. A burger truck served premium burgers, wine and beer flowed, and a live band played. A celebratory monument exactly as jakedog requested. His spirit was evident everywhere.
The photos are migrated from my phone to the cloud so I guess they can go into my picture library. It can take some time, it's been about 3 days and I'm still waiting. I can just imagine the scene.
Our group returned to the hotel, had a wonderful dinner at the restaurant, and enjoyed many hours of conversation, only occasionally turning to politics. Very fun. The next day, Susan and her friends were kind enough to drive us through Orange County's clean, wide highways to Old Town. Old Town is an incredibly lively area with shops, parks, palm trees, and lots of young people, many of whom are apparently still hanging their hats in there after graduation.
Special thanks to Susan for her skill in driving the highways and byways of Orange County. Danica Patrick's perspective skills were outstanding. Also thanks to 714day for coordinating the transportation and meeting at the hotel.
